BO SEBASTIAN, Author

Lives Falsely Imprisoned: #NelsonMandela

The first time I saw the word #Apartheid was in a monologue from an English play I learned for an acting audition. In college at twenty years old, I didn’t even know it meant segregation in South Africa. When I researched the word, I realized, even though I had never used the term, I had certainly felt the underwhelming resolve of apartheid in America and also in my own life as a gay man in a straight world.

Nelson Mandela fought a good fight and stayed in prison for a large majority of his adult life because of how committed he was to his core beliefs. When the South African government released Mandela, he almost immediately arose to power for four years. People of South Africa cried in the streets when the segregation had met its match, and anti-apartheid support won the battle for equality. Mandela’s life remains something to celebrate and to continue to use as a template where lives are downtrodden and prejudiced.

My first instance of hearing about Nelson Mandela came about as a result of a misquote I read in church. Many people thought Marianne Williamson, the famous spiritual writer and leader, quoted Nelson Mandela as saying: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world…” When, actually, Marianne wrote the famous quote. I’m not sure how all this misdirection about the quote came about. But, alas, this was my pathway to understanding the man, Nelson Mandela.

As I discovered his truths and his fight, my own heart rose up to reach the heights of power I needed to take on the demons in my life and with those who had less power around me, fighting the good fight of anti-apartheid for gay rights. I believe the resolve is similar. Who deserves to be separate but equal? Who deserves to pay the same taxes, but not receive the same benefits? Who can claim to be compassionate and not see or understand the pains of the GLBT community in the world, especially in America, Russia, India, and countries led by dictators and cruel laws against women and gays?

We all must rise up and speak our truth as Mandela did, even if it means imprisonment. Can any of us stand up for our rights, even if it means defying authorities? I wonder if I would have the strength to go to jail for my truth.

I once didn’t sign a recording contract with a Christian label because in the contract it politely asked if I be gay. At that time, I realized I would accept nothing more than truth for myself and my life, despite giving up what I had dreamed about most of my adult life. So, I could say that I had put my own recording career in prison for the past 30 years. Recently, though, I realized this and decided that I would quit teaching voice lessons and finally try to understand the premise on which God and Spirit would have me use my own singing voice.

Sometimes, I feel like standing on a mountain and singing at the top of my lungs, like I did in the shower this morning. A cry deep in my soul needs to be released, like the imprisoned souls met with prejudice and tyranny. I want nothing more than to express my soul without judgment and not to deny my true self, just as Mandela fought for. Let’s use the memory of his powerful battle against apartheid to muster strength to fight for our own truths today and every day!

Look for MY LATEST BOOK: “Finding Authentic You, 7 Steps to Effective Change” with a Year to CLEAR (C-larity, L-ove, E-nthusiasm A-nd R-elationship-Ready) on my Website in the Webstore. Thanks!

Below is information that I will be sharing for about a month, as not every person on my list reads the blog every day. If you have already read it, just skip over it. Thanks for understanding.

A Year to CLEAR Challenge:
(Please Know: You Can Join Us At Any Point in the Year Challenge.)

The masses search outward for things that qualify them as a person, but I always go inward for that which quantifies me for greatness. At twenty-five I preached on street corners in NYC as an in-the-closet Pentecostal minister. One day I heard a still small voice say, ‘God cannot be contained in a book or a law or even in a religion. Dig deeper, reach further to find me, and you will find your authentic Self.’”

A Year to CLEAR Challenge!

The acronym CLEAR stands for (Compassionate, Loving, Enthusiastic, And Relationship-Ready). The goal of this project is to engulf readers in a weekly study that will transform them by removing blocks, promote self-growth, and give them wings to fly freely into daily life. Each week, by going to BoSebastian.com and choosing the Year to CLEAR Challenge tab, a new challenge or thought to provoke conversation, growth, and group functionality.

My vision is to make Finding Authentic You the book to have in your Kindle or on your computer. The book is a comprehensive look at growth—spiritually, mentally, and physically.

As a yoga teacher and student of the Ayurvedic tradition, I bring to the table understanding of physical challenges, the ability to overcome mental problems with Life & Health Coaching, as well as hypnotherapy, and expertise in meditation and spirituality as a minister.

The combination of all three in one book with an interactive connection to like-minded readers, for one year, is what makes this Year to CLEAR Challenge a must-do for every spiritual seeker.

The One-Year Approach to Change

No one believes he or she can change overnight. But success in change comes from the metaphors of nature. Seasonally, life changes all around us in nature. Finding Authentic You offers a gradual change perspective, looking at the triune aspects of change as in yoga: Body, Mind and Spirit.

Accessing the ability to change and finding yourself actually pursuing change must be a daily search, which I call getting to the “observer mind.”

In this frontal cortex of the brain we find the anatomy of change and the power to counter every negative trigger of the human process. The workings of Hypnosis, NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming) and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) are all positive actions to help the mind and body flow to a positive space for change.

Every aspect of FINDING AUTHENTIC YOU fulfills this constant need for diffusing the negative past and dreaming of a fulfilling future.

Step 1: Recognize That Change is Inevitable
Step 2: Release from Resistance to Change
Step 3: Understanding Change and Allow Spirit to Define It
Step 4: A History Lesson—About You
Step 5: Look at Your Past with Compassion
Step 6: Making a Strong Commitment to Change
Step 7: Dream Your Fabulous Future
Go to www.bosebastian.com for Week One to Four Challenges:
TOOLS FOR CHANGE:
Go to Storefront to buy any of the following or make a donation to Finding Authentic You: www.shop.bosebastian.com

Bo Sebastian is a Hypnotherapist and Life & Health Coach, available for private sessions to QUIT SMOKING, Lose Weight, New Lap-Band Hypnosis for Weight Loss, CHANGE YOUR MIND, CHANGE YOUR LIFE! at 615-400-2334 or www.bosebastian.com. Please feel free to comment and/or sign up to receive your blog sent to you directly or stream with an RSS Feed.

I am trying to spread the word about my blog and I need your help. Please let your friends know it exists, if it gives you hope and blesses you each day. I would be greatly pleased for you to share anything that you read by clicking the share button in Facebook.com/bo.sebastian, or add it to your Twitter at BoSebastian; or LinkedIN at Bosebastian5@gmail.com; or find this blog home at www.FindingAuthenticYou.com. Any of my books can be found on Amazon or Barnes and Nobel, just by typing my name in the search header.